OS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday, a spokesman said. He was 71. ADVERTISEMENT Carlin, who had a history of heart problems, died at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica about 6 p.m. PDT (9 p.m. EDT) after being admitted earlier in the afternoon for chest pains, spokesman Jeff Abraham told Reuters. Known for his edgy, provocative material, Carlin achieved status as an anti-Establishment icon in the 1970s with stand-up bits full of drug references and a routine about seven dirty words you could not say on television. A regulatory battle over a radio broadcast of his "Filthy Words" routine ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

I've got mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was funny and clever and original. On the other hand, much of his material especially as time went by was extremely hateful and pessimistic and especially anti-god anti-christ.

So when a guy like this dies, I feel a sense of sadness for him, wondering if his athiestic devotion and anti-faith rhetoric cost him his soul and salvation.

But, rest in peace if possible George. Thanks for a few laughs. Sorry you got it so wrong.

Although I liked the piece about the car gang that would break into cars at quick marts without damaging anything, and the only thing they would do was crank up the volume on the radio, so when the "victim" got back in the car with the milk, and started the car, the volume would blast him out, and he'd be left thinking, "Well, it wasn't this loud when I got out of the car...".

And you consider these to be words of wisdom?... Some where/when maybe you can ask George to tell you why he thought he was wise enough to spit in God’s face. ‘Course it won’t be an escape clause for you, but you may get an answer ... after the fact. BTW, do you know what is the beginning of wisdom?

43
posted on 06/22/2008 11:04:56 PM PDT
by MHGinTN
(Believing they cannot be deceived, they cannot be convinced when they are deceived.)

Re-emerging as a long-haired, bearded, denim-clad hippie, he lost many of his high-paying gigs, but his riffs on sex, drugs, and politics quickly gained an avid following among the fringe culture.

in the early ‘90s, he courted an even younger audience by assuming the lead role on the PBS children’s series Shining Time Station

“Anyone who’s intelligent who isn’t somewhat angry is probably missing the point somewhere along the way. The way I put it is this: This species is a failure that has organized itself incorrectly, and it’s stuck and will never get out of it because the forces that keep it this way are much too powerful to change. So I gave up on this species, and I kind of try to look at it from a distance, but I can’t completely give up because I’m a part of it. So there’s this tension, and that creates a kind of anger that is easy to theatricalize.”

Carlin is proud of his ability to offend - in fact, he considers it central to his success. “I don’t care what happens to this planet, this race, the country,” he told Jeff Rusnak of the Florida Sun Sentinel.

That his distinctive brand of comedy has weathered more than three decades, as well as his own personal struggles with “heavy drug use,” according to Time

In the 1970s, Carlin became known for unpredictable performances. He would walk off if no one laughed, verbally insult the audience, or simply not appear.

In December 2004, Carlin announced that he would be voluntarily entering a drug rehabilitation facility to receive treatment for his dependency on alcohol and painkillers.

Carlin does not vote and often criticizes elections as an illusion of choice.[21] He said he last voted for George McGovern, who ran for President in 1972.

On February 1, 2006, Carlin mentioned to the crowd, during his Life is Worth Losing set at the Tachi Palace Casino in Lemoore, California, that he had been discharged from the hospital only six weeks previously for “heart failure” and “pneumonia”, citing the appearance as his “first show back”.

It’s all about individual faith and eternal achievement before we pass form this world. What we leave behind is what mirrors our spirit. Nobody but Mr. Carlin has the answer to what or where he is at the moment.

But the writing from the “Boss” himself makes it perfectly clear that nobody will sit beside him who rejected him in the previous life. No matter how many people he made laugh or think.

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.